Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response
by AbsintheJade21
Summary: Auron made two promises before his death that changed his life forever. This story delves deep into Auron's past, and how a young Al Bhed girl eventually saves him. Aurikku. Prequel to Palyica e ys fedr oui. Chapter 15 now up!
1. Prologue

"_Legendary guardian, humph._

_I was just a boy, a boy about your age actually._

_I wanted to change the world,_

_But I changed nothing._

_That is my story."_

_-Auron_

There is a story passed down from generation to generation of the Ronso tribe. It is told before blazing campfires on wintry Gagazet nights, or in the midst of the feverish Lucan stadium at the beginning of blitzball tournaments.

It involves a young Ronso, who was exiled into the caves of Gagazet and eventually returned to the tribe in a time of great need, a legendary warrior and champion. Since the origin of this story, the Ronso have sent their sons and daughters into the caves as a coming of age rite. If they do not pass this trial, they are forced to leave the sacred mountain of Yevon and venture out into the world alone.

Kimahri Ronso had yet to face these trials before he decided to pick a fight with Biran, the rising Ronso warrior, devout follower of Yevon, and Kimahri's personal role model. Weak, Kimahri fell to the overwhelming physical strength of his Ronso brother. After the violent sparring match had ended, Kimahri never conceded the fight to Biran, too proud to admit defeat. In anger, and to teach the small upstart a lesson, Biran grasped Kimahri's horn and broke it off. Kimahri was forced into exile by the elder, and maester, Kelk for his arrogance.

As he turned to leave Gagazet forever, Kimahri noticed a dark red spot weaving its way down the sacred mountain.

Auron knew that he had little time left. The adrenaline that had filled his body after his grave injury was now slowly seeping from him into the whirling snowflakes that danced mockingly around his stooped figure. His right eye was blinded from the bloody cleft that ran all the way from his forehead to his upper thigh, and he held his hand to his waist, as if it would somehow stop the blood flow.

Red spots dripped onto the pure, white background of the snow, and swam before his vision. He stumbled, then fell into the icy carpet.

Auron felt a pair of strong arms lift him from the snow and support him. He stood, leaning against his rescuer and coughing blood into the snow. Looking up, he saw the stern face of a dark-furred Ronso.

"Braska…" he managed to choke out. "Braska…has defeated…Sin. The Calm…" Auron nearly crumpled to the ground. The Ronso's mouth curved up, as if it was trying to smile.

"Praise be to Yevon," the Ronso said. Auron smirked and laughed bitterly before collapsing into a coughing fit. Through the red haze of Auron's vision, the Ronso looked concerned, but continued to support him.

"Yevon…hmmphh," Auron said, his voice becoming a bit stronger. He drew himself up to his full height and turned to face the Ronso. "Lord Braska's daughter…Yuna," he said. "It was his last wish that I…but…" Auron looked down at his wounds and laughed bitterly once more.

The Ronso nodded. "Kimahri will go," he said simply.

Auron gave the Ronso a weak smile and nodded in return. "She's in Bevelle," he told Kimahri.

Kimahri nodded again and began to walk down Gagazet, supporting Auron's injured body with his arm. Auron shook his head and shrugged so Kimahri's arm slid from his shoulders. Without the support, Auron collapsed to his knees.

"Go!" Auron ordered in a commanding tone. Kimahri looked slightly distressed, but nodded and followed Auron's orders. He quickly ran down the slopes of Gagazet towards the Calm Lands.

With Braska's final wish accomplished, Auron smiled and shakily drew himself up from the snow. There was one more dying wish he needed to fulfill.


	2. Death

I didn't do disclaimers on the first chapter because I thought that the quote alone would be more effective; however, now I feel compelled to inform you that I, in fact, do not own FFX.

Thank you all so much for the reviews of this story! It really means a lot to me.

"_Don't do this Jecht! If you live, there may be another way!"_

_-Auron_

"Ramb! E haat ramb!"(_Help! I need help!_)

Auron heard the babble of voices above him. His hazy vision swam in and out of focus. Dizzy, he turned to his side and vomited on the floor.

Wiping his mouth on a handkerchief that was thrust into his hands, Auron sat up. His vision was becoming clearer and the dizziness was gone. Slowly, he reached his fingers to his face. They came away sticky with blood, but he couldn't feel it. He didn't feel the pain that should have come with such a grievous injury.

He lay back down on the makeshift bed, dazed.

"Ra'c kuehk ehdu crulg! Rinno!"(_He's going into shock! Hurry!_)

Squinting his eye, Auron recognized that the man attending to him was an Al Bhed. Auron let out a small sigh to himself and unconsciously balled his fist in anger. The Al Bhed were another group of people cast aside, another casualty of Yevon.

When he had first entered the priesthood, Auron had been strong, assured, and had possessed the self-righteous arrogance that many clergymen displayed. He had been a recipient of every advantage.

Auron suddenly coughed into his palm, interrupting his feverish thoughts of the past. Flecks of blood spotted his hand, which was already caked with a brown crust of dried blood and dirt. The tanned Al Bhed man attending to him ran his hands through his long blond hair and looked down worriedly at the battered warrior he had just sewn up.

"Drana'c hudrehk suna fa iyh tu,"(_There's nothing more we can do,_) the man said to his friend who had turned and was now in the hallway outside. The young man then turned to Auron.

"Nacd famm,"(_Rest well,_) he said, before turning the lamp down and closing the door.

Auron's vision swam again. Maybe the Al Bhed man was right. He did need some rest. Auron closed his eyes. The sound of his labored breathing seemed deafening in the darkness.

Suddenly, beneath his eyelids, Auron saw a small arc of light. He heard the ethereal scream of a pyrefly and sat up quickly. His bandage tore off and he cried out in pain as the small creature swirled around his arm. Auron held out his hand and the pyrefly neatly landed on his palm, it's cries echoing through the small room.

As the pyrefly landed, he felt a small tug on his hand. He winced in pain, and watched in horror as his hand became transparent. Auron scrambled to his feet, leaning on his sword heavily so he could stand.

"No!" he cried out, swatting at the pyrefly. It screamed and was soon joined by a host of pyreflies that swirled around his body.

"I still have work to do!" Auron cried out, tears of pain and loss running down his cheeks. "Go away!" He dragged his sword around, trying to cut at the host of pyreflies. In his weakened state, the sword scraped across the ground, emitting a loud screeching noise as it gouged the tile floor.

"I made a promise…" he said tightly, his breathing heavy. His wound was fully opened now and blood was slowly dripping down his body and onto the floor. "I need…I need to go to Zanarkand. I…promised Jecht."

The pyreflies converged in front of Auron, howling and screaming. They then swirled up to the sky, leaving the room in silence. Auron stumbled into the bed, his sword clattering to the ground. His vision swam, separated, and then everything went black.

Sometime later in the night, Auron awoke. His quickly rose to his feet. He was no longer bleeding, and the large cleft that traveled down his torso wasn't throbbing anymore with a dull pain. Auron studied his opaque hands, before reaching up to touch his face. It no longer hurt, and he could now see out of both eyes.

Curious, he fumbled for the ridge on his face that had gouged his eye. It was still there, but the wound seemed to have scabbed over, and he ran his finger down the scar to his neck.

Realizing what had happened, Auron threw back his head and began to laugh bitterly.

"So," he said to himself, "I too, am now an unsent." He continued to laugh as he gathered his things from the small bedroom. Reaching into his pocket, he threw 1,000 gil onto the small cot for the Al Bhed to collect in the morning.

"After all, he deserves something for bandaging me up so well," Auron laughed into the darkness before quietly exiting the room.


	3. The Scar

I still don't own Final Fantasy X. Darn.

Thanks for the reviews, all!

"_Why are you still here, sir?"_

_-Seymour_

Auron stood at the edge of The Scar. The winking lights of pyreflies in the distant Zanarkand gave way to the inky blackness of the bottomless gorge. The wind lightly brushed through Auron's hair, and his long red sleeve fluttered.

Hundreds of years ago, High Summoner Gandof had defeated Sin in the Calm Lands. The battle had torn a large scar that separated the grassy plains from the base of Mt. Gagazet.

Auron closed his eyes and sighed. Burned into his eyelids he saw his friend, Braska, wielding an aeon that resembled Jecht. Smirking, Auron wondered if this, in some backwards way, was what Jecht had wished for his entire life. To be larger than life, and more powerful than anyone else in the world.

He sighed. Auron doubted that anything could ever be done to change the tradition of the final summoning. The best he could do was to move forward and find some way to get to Jecht's son, the crybaby.

Auron chuckled under his breath. In the sharp night air, even this slight noise echoed through the scar. He realized that Jecht had never once mentioned his son's actual name. Jecht had simply called him 'the crybaby,' or 'my son.' Some would have called Jecht uncaring or thoughtless to never mention his own son's name, but Auron knew better. He knew that Jecht, while in his own world, had been a pitiful father at best. By not mentioning his name, Jecht was doing so much more than insulting his son. He was acknowledging his own failure as a father.

Hefting his large blade over his shoulder, Auron turned his back to the scar and began to make his way across the Calm Lands. Even from across the wide plateau, he could hear the cheers and thundering crashes of fireworks from Bevelle, his home. Auron sighed, slowly turned away from Bevelle, and began to make his way across the plain towards Mt. Gagazet. He wondered if he would ever be able to return to his hometown again.

Suddenly, Auron began to laugh loudly. It was a hoarse, abrasive sound that clamored in his ears, drowning out the distant celebration.

"Why the hell am I homesick now?" he said, shaking his head in the darkness. Memories began to flood his mind as he walked across the small wooden bridge that led across the shallowest part of the gorge and out of the Calm Lands.

Growing up in Bevelle, Auron had always known that he would dedicate his life serving Yevon to the best of his ability. At an early age, he had realized that his physical strength was his best asset, and had decided to put his talents to use by joining the warrior monks. His eagerness, dedication, and sober, obedient demeanor had allowed Auron to rise quickly through the ranks. Following in his footsteps had been the humorous and good-natured Kinoc. The round-faced Kinoc had forever seemed just one step shy of one disaster after another; however he always had managed to stumble through any obstacle that had been thrown in his path.

Together, they had been praised by the clergy and admired by all of Bevelle. Auron had even received personal citations from Grand Maester Mika himself. However, the true honor had come when the High Priest Daubrey had offered Auron his only daughter, Pavia, in marriage.

Unbeknownst to Daubrey, Auron had already met Pavia when he was first a soldier, and she only an acolyte. The shy, and serious girl had immediately caught Auron's attention, while the other soldiers had only seen her beautiful appearance and had sought a good word with her father. Soon, Pavia had become like a sister to Auron, and Auron had dutifully played the role of an older brother.

This was why, when Daubrey had suggested that Auron marry his daughter, the serious and sober Auron had had a difficult time keeping a straight face. Not only was Pavia like family to him, but Auron already knew that Pavia was actually in love with Kinoc.

As Auron traveled to cave entrance of the stolen fayth to rest for a moment, he genuinely smiled. Kinoc's buffoonery and bumbling nature had never mattered to Pavia. As for Kinoc himself, he was overwhelmed by Pavia's beauty and kindheartedness and shocked in the most basic way a man can be when he realizes that a woman is too good for him.

Auron continued to smile as he sat down near what was rumored to be the training ground of High Summoner Yocun. At this brief thought of the final summoning, Auron's face fell and he angrily punched the rocky ground.

He wished he could go back and warn his friend Kinoc of the true nature of Yevon. Kinoc would be easily swayed and manipulated, as Auron once had been.


	4. Resignation

Mmmm…so I don't own Final Fantasy X, but I suppose I do own Pavia (at least the name) considering that she's only barely mentioned in the game as a nameless High Priest's daughter.

Thanks for all of the reviews!

"_You were always such a stiff,_

_but that's what I liked about you"_

_-Jecht_

The fireworks and celebration from Bevelle still echoed as Auron climbed Mt. Gagazet at daybreak. He hefted his sword onto his shoulder and looked down from the snowy peak. The sun was slowly warming the mountain, spreading gold and lavender hues across the icy path. In the distant twilight, the lights were shimmering and winking from the largest city in Spira.

Auron snorted in disgust and turned his back to his hometown.

"Hypocrites," he muttered hoarsely. He was certain that none of the revelers had actually expected Braska, of all people, to defeat Sin. As he, Jecht and Braska had journey across Spira, Auron had seen the attention lavished on Braska by the people, and he had also noticed their looks of disdain once Braska had left their presence. No one wanted this husband of an Al Bhed, a heathen, woman to become Spira's greatest hope.

Auron laughed dryly. And now, they were celebrating him as a hero.

Musing to himself, Auron continued to climb the mountain. The sun had finally climbed high enough to shimmer and glare brightly into Auron's eyes, reflecting off of the cold, icy snowscape.

Spira's greatest hope had actually come ten years ago in the form of a half-guado, half-human boy named Seymour. Extraordinarily talented at the young age of eight, Seymour had been lauded as both the greatest summoner of his time, and the symbol of further harmony between the human and guado races. A harmony that his father, the Yevon Maester Jyscal, had started by marrying a human woman for love.

Auron snorted again as his heavy footsteps crunched through a layer of ice that had crusted onto the snow drifts. He remembered hearing about Seymour's pilgrimage during his second year in warrior monks, but he knew that Seymour had never finished it. Instead, both Seymour, and his mother, who had been his guardian, seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Auron had assumed, while he had still been a devout follower of Yevon, that Seymour had succumbed to the difficulty of the pilgrimage and had perished somewhere outside of Zanarkand.

Now, Auron knew better. Being dead himself, he knew that something similar could have happened to Seymour. Auron also couldn't escape the nagging feeling that a boy as talented as Seymour wouldn't have been so easy to kill.

Auron laughed again, and the sound crackled through the ice of Gagazet. He placed one hand on his face, where the giant cleft in his body began. If Seymour had gone up against Yunalesca, he would be in no better shape than Auron was.

The wind, which would have been bitingly cold had he not been dead, whipped at Auron's sleeve as he continued his trudge to the summit. Auron wasn't sure exactly where he was going.

He was certain that if he was to return to any populated area, even a small one like Kilika or Besaid, he would first be celebrated as a hero for helping bring the Calm. However, after the cheers died down, Auron knew that questions would arise, especially from the Yevon clergy.

He now suspected that most of the high-ranking priests, and perhaps even Grand Maester Mika, were aware of the true nature of the Final Summoning. Auron knew that he couldn't take the risk of returning to any city or town with a Temple of Yevon located in it, in case Lady Yunalesca communicated frequently with the Yevon clergy.

Auron coughed and smirked. "It's not as if I was a favorite of Yevon anyway," he said into the bitterly cold, arid air.

After the High Priest Daubrey had offered Pavia to him, Auron had stalled, saying that he needed some time to think it over. He had even used his young age of four and twenty, and her young age of 19, as excuses, knowing full well that in Spira, people were married as young as 14. In a world with Sin, no one ever knew when their time would come, and it was best to live life to the fullest extent before it did.

Pavia and Wen had both begged Auron not to marry her. He pretended to acquiesce to their demands; however he knew, deep down, that he could never have married Pavia even if his best friend hadn't been in love with her. The truth of it was that Auron himself wasn't in love with her, and he wasn't going to rush in to a marriage simply because it would further his career.

When he had repeated those words to Daubrey, the High Priest had become very angry. He had even gone to Maester Hiram, then leader of the warrior monks, to forcibly demote Auron. Hiram had refused, saying that Auron had rightfully earned his rank; however Hiram realized that further promoting Auron would put his own status within the clergy at risk. Instead of demoting him, Hiram decided to give Auron the dead-end, and impossibly boring task of guarding the Mi'hen Highroad.

Guard duty was always a loathsome assignment for any warrior monk; however, the Mi'hen Highroad was, by far, the most dull location to be assigned to. This was because the Highroad was already patrolled by the more than capable Crusaders.

Disillusioned by the politics of the situation, Auron had handed in his resignation to Maester Hiram the next day.

As he reached the gathering of fayth at the summit of Mt. Gagazet, Auron paused. The only sounds were the slow breathing of the fayth.

Auron let out a slow, "Hummph." It echoed through the eerie quiet. He supposed that his resignation had been what Daubrey had wanted all along.


	5. Sin

I'm trying my best to move this story along to the part where Rikku and Auron actually, you know, TALK to each other; however I really feel as if this background info on Auron (and a little later, Rikku) is necessary in understanding their complex relationship. Also, I'm trying to make both Auron and Rikku (and everyone else in the story) as in-character as possible. Please let me know if you think anyone's OOC! Still don't own anything but original characters.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys are great!

"_You're a good friend, Auron."_

_-High Summoner Braska_

A small fire crackled, as flames and shadows leapt and echoed off of the dilapidated stone pillars. Auron rubbed his hands together and briefly held them over the flames until the heat began to burn his palms. He breathed out slowly, and a puff of steam condensed on his sunglasses, which were perched directly under his eyes, even at this time of night.

In the past month and a half, Auron had been wandering throughout Spira, avoiding civilization altogether while learning how to control his unsent form. He had managed, with much effort and practice, to hold his body together and maintain a shape identical to the body he'd inhabited while he had still been alive.

Auron ran his fingers down his scar again. Somehow, he knew that this deep cut traveling down his body would stay with him forever. He accepted this with ease, seeing the scar as a reminder of the sacrifices he, and his two closest friends had made. It also represented the final betrayal of the Yevon clergy.

Despite his defection from the warrior monks, Auron had remained a true believer, and still had followed the teachings of Yevon strictly. Ostricized by the clergy, Auron had left Bevelle. Before his departure, he had managed to make sure that Wen Kinoc remained in a high rank.

"Auron, no…you…"

Kinoc had looked torn after he learned of Auron's resignation. He hadn't wanted Auron to marry Pavia, but he also hadn't wanted Auron to leave the warrior monks. In addition to losing his closest friend, Kinoc was also losing his protection. There would be no one to pull him out of scrapes, or cover up for his many mistakes now that Auron was leaving.

"I'll be fine," Auron had said briefly. "Take care of yourself, and Pavia," he'd added as an afterthought before turning to leave.

"I will," Kinoc had promised, bowing to Auron's retreating back.

Auron kicked at the ground in disgust. Small bits of dirt and pebbles were blown into the fire, effectively dousing half of it. Swearing, Auron cupped his hands around his mouth and blew gently, coaxing the fire back to its original size, as he once again thought of Kinoc. Auron had made sure to sever all ties with the monk, in order to protect Kinoc's rank, and wondered if the bumbling round-faced man had gotten into any trouble without Auron's protection.

"You should have gotten out when I did, old friend," Auron laughed into the flames and the darkness. His own hoarse chuckle momentarily reminded him of Jecht's raspy cackle.

Jecht had laughed frequently in Braska's pilgrimage, and often it hadn't been at anything humorous. It had taken awhile for Auron to realize that Jecht wasn't really laughing because he thought a situation was actually funny. Instead, Jecht had laughed as a way of coping with his own situation. Stuck in a world that wasn't his own, with only two people to consider as friends.

Auron frowned and interrupted his own thoughts. He highly doubted that Jecht had made many friends in his own time, especially with his brash, arrogant manner and his severe drinking problem.

The fire was began to die down until all that remained were the white-hot embers that glowed with orange and red at their edges. Auron quickly rose and gathered some more damp wood to dry at the edges of the coals. The embers were hot enough that even damp timber would catch fire, or so Auron hoped, considering that the only wood available to him was damp and wet with salt water.

Auron set the damp wood over the smouldering coals and blew gently. With a minimal amount of effort, he managed to build a decent-looking fire. Standing up, Auron began to further survey his surroundings.

He knew that a temple was rumored to be located in this area. Unfortunately, it was underwater, and Auron had never been good at holding his breath. He paused to study his own, newly unsent body before shrugging and diving into the water. Auron had nothing better to do with his time, which now stretched in front of him for what seemed like an eternity, and he might as well spend his extra time training.

Auron felt the water's chill as he dove in. He had never possessed any great magical prowess, and his skills at channeling any magical energy were passable at best. It had already taken him the better part of the past month to figure out how to exert enough control over the pyreflies to maintain his original human form. If his inability to fully control pyreflies meant that Auron had to put up with life's inconveniences, like the numbing cold of seawater, he would deal with them.

He quickly sank to the bottom. Now that it was unnecessary for him to breathe, it didn't really matter; however, his thick red clock and katana weighed heavily on him. Settling on the ground, he began to walk around the ocean floor.

As he looked up, Auron could see the light from his campfire, bending, breaking, and refracted through the water, until it slowly and dimly lit the bottom of the ocean. Adjusting his vision to the small amount of light, Auron began to explore, heading towards what resembled a large stone door. It was flanked by two statues on either side, but the steps were almost obscured by fallen stone pillars.

Suddenly, a large creature appeared, bursting through a nearby stone archway. Pieces of the arc, large bricks and pieces of clay columns rained down on Auron. He sneered and sliced through the debris with his sword. He had been craving a good training challenge.

Auron recognized the fiend as a Geosgaeno and brandished his sword at the offending monster. Springing forward, Auron managed to dodge the fiend's punch attack before landing a good piercing blow through the fiend's cage-like stomach.

Hefting his sword over his shoulder, Auron prepared for another attack; however, the fiend was suddenly startled and abruptly left the battle.

Looking up, Auron immediately understood why. A hulking monster had cast a shadow over the whole of the underwater ruins.

"Sin," Auron whispered. "Jecht?" he then questioned.

"Yeah, I'm here, Captain Tightwad."

Auron looked around, confused. He could have sworn that he'd heard Jecht's voice inside his head.

"Jecht?" Auron questioned again.

"How stupid are you, you stiff? I'm right here!" Jecht's voice exclaimed.

"You're inside Sin? Still?" Auron asked aloud.

"Yeah, sort of. Well, while this Yevon guy is regenerating himself, I kinda have most of the control."

"I…see," was all Auron could say.

"Look, I uh… Do you remember what you promised?"

Auron looked up at the monster. "I promised to take care of your son," he said. Auron waited a moment, but the monster was still there.

"Jecht?" he said.

Suddenly he felt a rush, and saw that his body was being dragged towards Sin. Struggling, Auron couldn't break free of the strong current and was slowly drawn closer and closer to the monster. Auron began to twist and turn in an attempt to swim away.

"Don't struggle so much," came Jecht's voice. "I'm trying to help!"

These were the last words in Auron's mind before everything went black.


	6. Home

There will be a few more original characters in this chapter, so I suppose that they belong to me (the names at least). Still don't own Auron, Rikku, or anyone else from the FFX gang.

It's repetitive, but, seriously, thank you to everyone who takes the time to review this story.

Also, this chapter focuses on Rikku and the Al Bhed. For all intents and purposes, they are ALL speaking Al Bhed. However, to make it easier to understand (and write) their quotes are all in English.

"_But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again._

_If we put our minds to it, and worked together, the we could make a new home."_

_-Rikku_

"Seriously, Gippal? Seriously!" Rikku bellowed over the sandstorm.

She held a green scarf over her face to shield her mouth and nose. The engine grease that was spattered over most of her body caused the sand to cling and stick to her exposed flesh in a gritty and grimy paste.

Adjusting her goggles, Rikku studied the machina that her friend had managed to get stuck in a pile of sand. Brandishing her wrench and muttering to herself she began to tinker with the machina engine. Rikku hadn't met an engine that she couldn't somehow coax into starting.

Nearby, the offending Gippal cowered behind a sand dune in a small, makeshift hut. It was one of many that Cid had set up to guide weary Al Bhed travelers through the seemingly endless Sanubia desert.

The storm quickly passed, and Gippal slowly began to take light steps towards Rikku. She was still toying with a mechanism inside the machina engine. Gippal stopped to appreciate the view of Rikku's barely covered bottom wriggling as she muttered schematics to herself under her breath.

Like many teenage boys' minds tend to do, Gippal's began to wander, studying Rikku as she fixed the machina. He licked the sand from his lips and his eyes brightened. Walking faster towards the girl, he held out his arms and turned on his best, most charming smile. The same smile that had already convinced many of the girls in Home to somehow shed their clothing in his presence.

He had taken two more steps before a well-aimed wrench hit him square between his eyes.

Gippal yelled and staggered back, stumbling onto the ground and rubbing his forehead in alarm. He glared at Rikku, who hadn't even looked up from her work.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled at her, his famous blasé charm evaporating quicker than rain in the arid Sanubia air.

The thirteen year-old girl slowly turned around and regarded the older boy with a cool stare.

"What was that for?" Rikku's voice was more of a yell than a question. "What was that FOR!" she repeated.

Gippal tried his smile again. Rikku gave him a look of death and eyed her toolbox.

"You drag me out here, promising some good treasure, then your no-good sandspeeder breaks down, THEN you hide from a sandstorm while I have to do all the work…" her voice cracked in the dry air, and her small body shook with rage.

"Well," said Gippal easily, "It's just because you're so much better with machina than me, and…" He immediately stopped talking when he saw Rikku reaching for a large hammer in her toolbox.

"And now you try to feel me up? Are you SERIOUS!" she fumed.

Gippal shrugged sheepishly, but thought better before another one of his insincere, honeyed compliments escaped his lips. After all, Rikku was smarter than most of the girls he knew, and she was definitely the only one he cared about offending.

"Didn't you just get accepted to some special fighting program?" Rikku asked. Her voice was slightly calmer as she righted the sandspeeder and stepped back to study it.

"Yup! I got my papers yesterday!" Gippal puffed his chest out with pride. "It's called the Akagi Team. And it's run by the Crusaders and…"

"Ugh," Rikku snorted in disgust, "Aren't they associated with Yevon? Why would you want to join anything the temples are involved in?"

Gippal waved his hand nonchalantly. "They're barely involved with the temples Rikku, barely. This Maester Kinoc guy, he's technically in charge, but basically the Crusaders can do whatever they want. They don't have to follow the teachings of Yevon if they don't want to."

"Yeah right," Rikku muttered under her breath. "Anything remotely associated with the temples is absolutely controlled by the temples, Gippal, you know that. Besides, the temples sacrifice summoners! They sacrifice them so they can live in peace for a few years. It's not right, you know?" Her voice slowly became louder and louder.

Gippal shrugged in reply. "The letter didn't say anything about the temples," he weakly responded. "Besides, you're just paranoid. You listen to your dad too much." This last comment earned Gippal another wrench to the face.

"Oww! The hell?" he exclaimed.

"Don't you dare say that about my father! He's the one that brought us Al Bhed together, you know! We'd all be lost without him!"

"But you talk about him all the time," Gippal muttered, mostly to himself.

"That's DIFFERENT!" Rikku yelled and stormed off towards the speeder. With a quick punch, the machina started and Rikku sped off in a cloud of sand.

"Wait!" Gippal called out to the retreating trail of sand. "Don't leave me here! I didn't mean it Rikku, I swear! We're all grateful for what Cid has done for us, and…" His voice trailed off when he could no longer see the cloud of dust that the speeder kicked up in its wake.

"Great," Gippal muttered to himself, pushing his goggles over his eyes. "Stupid girls."

"What was that?" Rikku called out from behind him. She had pulled the speeder around in a full-circle.

"Uhh…nothing," Gippal coughed. "Could I please have a ride, Lady Rikku?" he asked patronizingly, batting his eyelashes for emphasis.

"Get in," Rikku smiled. The thrill of driving a new machina far outweighed any stupid comment that Gippal could make. "This thing is great! Woohoo!" she yelled as she gunned the engine. Gippal clutched the rail as speeder shot forward across the dunes.


	7. Zanarkand

Just a little sidenote on the previous chapter. In it, Rikku is, as mentioned, 13 years-old, placing the chapter two years before Yuna's pilgrimage. Gippal is 15 and about to enter the Crusader's Akagi Team, which, if you've played FFX-2 you know all about. For more info on the X-2 story there's a great summary by Kouli.

Also, my wealth of knowledge on the history of Spira I have gleaned from an amazing timeline by Alastair. Just giving credit where credit is due.

Sha sha, just warning you all, this story is going to skip around a lot with flashbacks to Braska's pilgrimage, Tidus's childhood, etc., and I still don't own anything but any original characters mentioned in this story.

"_Enlightened rule by the dead is preferable to the misguided failures of the living."_

_-Wen Kinoc_

Auron heaved a slow, long sigh and swirled his jug of nog before taking a large swig of the strong alcoholic beverage. He waited as the fiery liquid burned its way down his throat, and caused a small tingling, but warming, sensation in the pit of his stomach.

In death, Auron had only furthered his somewhat narrow-minded attention to duty. This Zanarkand, a bright and cheery city, held captive by its own indulgences and desires, sought only to point out the drastic differences between Spira, and a world without Sin.

As Auron took another stinging sip of alcohol, he wondered what would happen to Spira if Sin could be truly defeated. Would it become a glittering place of flash and no substance, like this Zanarkand.

Dryly coughing, he drank again, slowly. It didn't matter what could happen, because it was obvious that Sin could never be defeated. Yunalesca had made that perfectly clear, Auron thought as he ran his fingers down his scar on his side. Scowling, he looked distantly across the shimmering reflection of the great city on the water.

He heard Tidus before Tidus had even come outside to the deck. Instead of dulling his senses, or eliminating them altogether, as Auron had somewhat expected, death had heightened them. His hearing was now impeccable, his sight was perfect, despite his blinding scar, and the cooling, but burning sensation of the alcohol numbed his throat in a way that it never had before. Auron had assumed that his inability to wield the magical power of the pyreflies was responsible for his improved senses. However he had recently come to the conclusion that it was his death itself, and not any magical deficiency on his part.

"Hey Auron! You're up early," Tidus said, somewhat sleepily.

If Auron had been one of those people, like Tidus, who showed his feelings openly and shared his problems, he would have explained the truth of his early mornings. Despite his lack of visible emotion, his bitterness bubbled to the surface, and Auron was sorely tempted to snap that he was dead, and therefore didn't need to sleep.

He regarded Tidus with the same emotionless mask that he presented always. A muttered, "Humphh," was his only reply.

"Yeah, I guess you're usually up early," Tidus said, waving away a yawn with his hand. Tidus looked up at the purple sky. Even in day, Zanarkand was rarely sunny. Auron had sarcastically remarked to him that the darkness was caused by the overly well-lit lights of the city, which were never extinguished, even in the daytime.

"I've got a big game today," Tidus offered as conversation.

"It's been ten years," Auron replied. Tidus hung his head briefly and then looked into Auron's eyes defiantly.

"What do I care about my old man?"

Auron refrained from saying that Tidus's outbursts of emotion whenever Jecht was mentioned showed that he did indeed care; however, it was not yet the time. If there was anything Auron had learned from his ten years of death, it was to patiently wait for the proper time.

"MMmph," Auron grunted.

Tidus let out a large breath he hadn't been aware of holding in. As it dissipated into the humid air, he turned to Auron, grinned, and pumped his fists.

"Well, those C-South Duggles don't stand a chance! Not against the star player of the Zanarkand Abes!" Tidus pointed to himself and threw back his head in a hearty laugh. Auron merely regarded him from behind his sunglasses.

"You are very much your father's son," he said.

Tidus interrupted his laughing to look at Auron. "What'd you say?" he asked.

"Nothing," Auron said, shaking his head and successfully controlling his mirth. He brought his flask to his lips and drank deeply.

"Hey Auron," Tidus questioned. "What is that stuff you're always drinking? It's not alcoholic is it?"

"Very," Auron replied hoarsely.

"Oh," Tidus blanched. "Well, at least you're not like my old man, getting drunk all the time. Ugh! If he were here I'd…" Tidus punched his fist into his palm for emphasis.

Auron bitterly chuckled. "Ten years is indeed a long time," he mused, more to himself than in response to Tidus's anger.

"Yeah, whatever," Tidus said, still angry. "I've got to get to practice anyway. See you at the game later?" he added hopefully. Auron simply shrugged.

"Yeah, I know, you're not a blitz fan," Tidus answered his own question, face falling.

"Maybe," was Auron's response.

Tidus perked up at this answer and quickly waved goodbye as he ran off to the stadium.

"After all," Auron added to himself, "wouldn't want to miss the 10-year anniversary."

When he was sure that Tidus had gone, Auron swiftly and noiselessly swept inside the houseboat and into his room. Shifting his gaze a few times for good measure, he lifted the small mattress in the center of his floor. It was, in fact, the only object in his room with the exception of his katana, which lay against the wall in the furthest corner from the door.

Underneath the mattress was a long package wrapped in paper. Slowly, almost religiously, unwrapping it, Auron revealed a simple sword, which he held gingerly in his hands, as if it would suddenly shatter into a thousand pieces onto the hardwood floor.

"After all," he repeated. "Wouldn't want to miss the 10-year anniversary. Would I, old friend?"


	8. To Spira

And now the real plot of FFX, which I own in no way, shape or form, begins, huzzah!

I'd like to thank all of my loyal reviewers. You all make it very worthwhile to continue this story.

And it's been awhile since an update, right? So I'll just get to it!

"_It depends on what you mean by 'alive.' _

_  
He is no longer human. _

_  
But then..._

_  
I felt something of Jecht there in that shell, couldn't you? _

_  
You must have felt him when you came in contact with Sin."_

_-Auron_

He didn't enjoy lying, Auron thought to himself as he strapped Jecht's sword to his back. Running his fingers along the edge, the sword was still sharp enough to draw blood. Auron studied the small droplets of red as they ran down his palm and dripped onto the hardwood floor.

Although he had never lied outright to Tidus, by withholding vital information from him for the past ten years, Auron felt as if he had been lying to him every day he had been in this foreign Zanarkand.

'Maybe,' was what he had said to Tidus when he had asked Auron to watch his blitzball game. In a way, Auron was a worse father figure than Jecht. He had never gone to any of Tidus's matches.

Snorting, he took a stinging sip of nog from his jug. This was one blitzball game that he couldn't miss. He had been waiting for this date for ten years.

Stepping outside, into the cool, damp, night air, Auron noticed that the sky overhead was starry and cloudless, a rare occurrence in this budding metropolis. He took this as another sign of what was about to happen.

Auron couldn't pinpoint why he knew that today would be the day he would take Tidus back to Zanarkand, but there were many more factors than a starry sky. Smirking, Auron allowed for the possibility that, being an unsent, he was possessed with a superior sense of intuition. Although any trace of this psychic ability had not appeared until today. He drank another bit of alcohol. As it simultaneously cooled and burned his throat, he realized that his newfound intuition had more to do with how well he knew Jecht than any unsent psychic ability manifesting itself.

"You would never miss out on a blitz game playing in your honor, would you?" Auron said out loud as he navigated the deserted street, chuckling at his friend's perverse sense of humor.

Stopping at a skyscraper just before the blitz stadium, Auron looked up to see the great city mirrored perfectly in the windowpanes. Many of the buildings in Zanarkand were designed to reflect the scenery around them, a narcissistic city of mirrors and machina.

"What a waste," Auron said hoarsely, as he concentrated on moving from the ground to the scaffolding near the top of the high-rise. Squeezing his good eye shut, more out of reflex than anything else, he focused the small amount of magic ability that he had into moving his unsent body from the ground to one of the highest points in the city.

A sweat droplet beaded on his forehead as he opened his eye. Auron was greeted by an achingly beautiful view of Zanarkand. For a fleeting moment, he could understand Yevon's desperation and wish to preserve this city, on the eve of its destruction, forever in an illusion.

Walking slowly and purposely out onto a metal girder, Auron paused to take a slow sip from his hip flask.

"After all," he said quietly to the approaching tidal wave on the horizon, "there's no difference between an illusion and reality to those living in it, is there?"

With these words spoken to the arrival of his friend, Auron gracefully jumped from the building onto the street below. Blissfully unaware, was the crowd gathered just outside of the stadium, watching Tidus's performance on a monitor stationed near the entrance. Auron approached the crowd, briefly looking behind him to see that the skyscrapers and water were slowly being drawn upwards.

Shaking his head, Auron turned towards the blitz stadium and its broadcast of the Jecht Memorial Cup. Tidus had possession of the ball. Smirking confidently, he rose out of the sphere pool for his signature shot. The cameras captured the look of confusion and horror on his face as Tidus noticed the giant ball of water in the sky. Scrambling midair, Auron watched Tidus catch hold of the same scaffolding that he had stood on moments before. Both screens then went blank as explosions and screams erupted from the stadium audience. The crowd that had gathered outside of the stadium, hoping to catch a glimpse of the championship match began to panic as water poured out from behind the arena walls.

Auron looked up and watched as Tidus unceremoniously fell from the skyscraper and into the terrified crowd. Taking another draught from his jug, Auron smirked at the irony. The star Zanarkand Abes forward falls into a crowd of his 'loyal' fans, and not one of them notices.

Stepping forward, Auron managed to block Tidus's path after the blitz player had dusted himself off and begun to run away from the chaos.

"Auron?" Tidus questioned, visibly shaken. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you," Auron replied simply as he began to walk down the street, in the opposite direction of the rushing crowds.

"What are you talking about?" Tidus stammered, following closely behind. Suddenly the panicked people froze. Auron was nowhere in sight.

Tidus looked around, terrified and confused. A small boy appeared in front of him. Auron laughed slowly to himself as he listened to the fayth tell Tidus not to cry, before continuing to walk down the street. It wasn't long before he heard Tidus's hurried footsteps.

"Hey! Not this way!" Tidus yelled to him.

Auron simply stopped and regarded the sky. "Look," he ordered Tidus. He watched the emotions play on Tidus's face, listened to the quick gasp of breath, as Jecht's son saw, for the first time, what people in Spira had to live with every day of their lives.

"We called it 'Sin,'" Auron said.

"Sin?"

Auron watched as hundreds of sinspawn besieged the city. Tidus began to swat at the bird-like creatures with his hands. Auron resisted the urge to laugh bitterly at the sight, and instead, unstrapped Jecht's sword from his back.

"Take it," he commanded Tidus, who was on the ground from his attempt to fight off the sinspawn. As Tidus took the sword, he stumbled under its weight. Auron briefly wondered if Tidus had the strength to fulfill Jecht's wish.

"A gift from Jecht."

"My old man?" Tidus's voice was confused, but laced with anger at the mention of his father's name. He brandished his sword awkwardly, swinging at the sinspawn. It was enough to drive them back for the moment.

"I hope you know how to use it," Auron said before charging into battle with the creatures. "These ones don't matter," he told Tidus, gesturing to the sinspawn beside and behind them. "We cut through!"

Tidus was too confused question Auron's orders, and quickly grasped a working knowledge of how to use his sword, swinging it wildly and managing to score a few hits on their attackers.

"Don't bother going after all of them! Cut the ones that matter and run!" Auron led a charge through the center of the sinspawn before a loud noise erupted in front of them. A larger sinspawn, Ammes, had lodged itself in the pavement.

Tidus nodded cockily at Auron and focused his energy.

"Check this out!" he yelled to Auron as he released a powerful Spiral Cut at the sinspawn. Auron nodded begrudgingly before unleashing his own attack. At the very least, Tidus had his father's natural fighting ability.

Ammes was somewhat easily disposed of, with Tidus medicating his wounds using potions, and the two continued to run down the street. Tidus paused to watch his father's image flicker on a billboard.

"What are you laughing at, old man? Auron! Let's get out of here!"

Auron chuckled slightly at Tidus for both the unnecessary hostility towards his father, and the commanding tone of his voice.

"We're expected."

"Hunh?" Tidus looked at him, confused, as Auron broke into a run. Sighing, Tidus began to chase after him. "Gimme a break, old man!"

Just then, Sin unleashed hundreds more scales, which turned into sinspawn blocking Auron's path.

"Humph, this could be bad," Auron remarked, surveying their options. His eyes finally fell on a broken piece of machina lying on the side of the street.

"You're not going to make this easy on us, are you old friend?" Auron murmured under his breath before ordering Tidus to knock down the machina.

"What?"

Auron shook his head. "Trust me, you'll see."

Tidus nodded, somewhat bewildered, but more calm than Auron had expected him to be in this situation.

With each attack, the electricity in the machina began to crackle and hiss. Finally, with a last sword attack from Tidus, it fell off of the street, acting as a grenade-like explosive, destroying both the sinspawn and the road.

"Go!" Auron ordered.

As they ran, the street continued to disintegrate behind them. Auron watched as Tidus leapt, lost his balance, and managed to grasp on to the edge of the road.

"Auron! Auron!" Tidus cried, panicked as he hung precariously over the edge.

Auron simply stood on the ledge above him, looking up at the sky.

"_Hey, Captain Tightwad! Long time no see!"_ Jecht's voice echoed in Auron's head.

"You are sure?" Auron asked him.

"_Hey. I've been thinking…'bout lots of stuff while I've been trapped here and…well, I don't want to be like this forever. Or until some other summoner has to defeat me. He can do it. I know he can. If he's stopped being such a crybaby, that is." _

Auron nodded. "This is it," he said, looking back at Tidus. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Auron dragged him from the precipice.

"This is your story," he told Tidus as they began to rise towards the sky, "It all begins here."


	9. Cunno

Once again, this is a Rikku and Al-Bhed-centric chapter. (yeah, you guessed it jinjer!) However, seeing as they will be speaking both 'English' and Al Bhed, unlike chapter five, all of the Al Bhed spoken parts will be in Al-Bhed.

The Al-Bhed translations were what took me so freaking long to write this chapter so I heartily apologize for the time and thank everyone who reads this!

Thanks for reading and please review! Also a special thanks to my loyal reviewers who have stuck with this story and written feedback to prove it. Thanks a lot everybody!

"_Don't forget to thank me if this works!"_

_-Rikku_

The haunting moans of buoys echoed across the dark water as a small Al Bhed salvage ship navigated its way from sunny Bikanel through the treacherous southern currents of the ocean. Here, in the southwestern corner of the Spira, the skies were always grey and cloudy but it never rained.

Rikku shivered. Although she had been sent on dozens of salvage operations already, she couldn't shake the chill of the damp, cool air or the rotting smell that rose from the dank water.

"Yeeuchhhh!" She exclaimed to herself as she looked out at the seemingly endless horizon of gray and purple waves.

"Fryd ec ed drec desa?"(_What is it this time?_)

Rikku turned and saw her annoying and excitable brother approaching where she stood at the rail. For a moment, she was tempted to yell out 'Sin!' and really freak him out, but she immediately shook her head and thought better of it. There were some things that you just couldn't joke around about.

She stood for a moment more, pausing before answering his question. "Ed'c naymmo, naymmo LUMT!"(_It's really, really cold!_) she exclaimed in her most whiny, petulant, teenage-girl voice. Rikku then rubbed her hands vigorously up and down her upper arms while shifting from foot to foot for emphasis. She knew that her whining would really piss Brother off.

Sure enough, her older brother threw his hands up melodramatically in disgust before walking back into the ship's cabin. Rikku quickly covered her mouth, stifling her giggle, before looking back out over the water.

Shivering once more, she rubbed her upper arms again, this time in earnest. Rikku wondered why anyone had wanted to live in this place as she trembled, peering into the depths for any sign of the ancient ruins that they were searching for.

"Famm, oui fyhdat aqledasahd…"(_Well, you wanted excitement_…) she murmured to herself under her breath, shaking her head.

Musing to herself, Rikku giggled. After seeing her reluctant, and ultimately childish behavior, on this salvage mission, Brother had assumed that their father had forced her onto the ship kicking and screaming. She had even heard him mumble a few choice swears, really good ones too, under his breath when he thought she wasn't listening.

In fact, the situation had been the complete opposite. Rikku had gone to Cid and begged him to let her go on the mission.

"Yna oui gettehk?"(_Are you kidding?_) she said dryly aloud in a mocking imitation of her father. "Hu tyikrdan uv seha ec kuehk dnyebcehk enuiht dra ulayh!"(_No daughter of mine is going traipsing around the ocean!_)

Rikku snorted and then sighed. As a child, Cid had barely paid attention to her. She had been able to wander about Bikanel as she pleased, providing that she equipped the no encounters targe that he had given her, and she had happily developed her thieving and mechanical skills.

Staring out at the grey ocean, she cursed the unfairness of her situation. Now that Gippal had disappeared into the Crusaders training program, and no one had heard anything from him since, the burden of eventually leading the Al-Bhed had fallen squarely on Rikku's shoulders. Mumbling under her breath, Rikku cursed both the Crusaders and Gippal as well. It wasn't fair that Gippal had gone and left her with the responsibility.

Sighing, Rikku had another thought as her eyes focused on a speck that had appeared on the horizon. No one took her seriously anyway. If they really wanted her to lead, they would defer all of their decisions to her.

Rikku took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. There was no better time than the present to change her family's opinion of her. Shifting her goggles over her eyes in a sign of seriousness to the task at hand, Rikku marched into the salvage ship's cabin.

"Cra ryc y puto mega drec…"(_She has a body like this_…) Brother was saying to a group of young men excitedly, waving his arms through the air in a suggestive manner, "yht ran aoac, drao'na dfu tevvanahd…"(_and her eyes, they're two different_…)

"Ewwww!" Rikku shrieked, "Yna oui dymgehk ypuid Yuna?"(_Are you talking about Yuna?_) Brother stopped, shocked for a minute, and then looked at the ground sheepishly. Inwardly, Rikku choked down her disgust long enough to smirk with satisfaction. She couldn't have picked a better time to test her newfound desire to prove her authority.

"Cra'c ouin luiceh!"(_She's your cousin!_) Rikku said in what she hoped was a commanding tone. After all, she had never met Yuna herself. She briefly wondered how Brother had come by this updated discription of their cousin, considering that the only picture of her that Cid had was from when she was three years-old. Taking in a deep breath, she continued. "Huf, kad pylg du fung."(_Now, get back to work_.)

Brother, and all of the other young men present in the cabin stared at her incredulously. Rikku began to sweat.

"Dra niehc yna yrayt!"(_The ruins are ahead!_) she yelled, somewhat frantically. The young men quickly sprang into action. Brother headed to the bridge of the ship, calling out orders to the crew. In seconds, the cabin was empty. Rikku pushed her goggles up onto her forehead and breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned against the cabin wall. Being a leader was harder than she had previously thought.

After a moment, Rikku walked out onto the deck. A cluster of rocky ruins greeted her vision. They looked nearly as dismal as the endless view of the grey water and sky.

"Yna oui cina drec ec ed?"(_Are you sure this is it?_) Rikku called out to her brother, spitting on her goggles before wiggling them into place.

Brother yelled something that Rikku didn't quite catch over the whistling of a brief wind gust. Nodding to him, she dove into the water anyway.

Rikku nearly gasped when she hit the water. The icy chill soaked through her wetsuit in minutes, rendering it useless. Proudly holding her breath, Rikku swam deeper into the icy water, noticing for the first time the debris that was floating in a small cloud around one of the underwater archways.

Frowning, Rikku approached the stone doorway. Brother had claimed that no one had been to this area in years, so it was impossible that they would encounter anyone at these ruins. She groaned, watching the few errant bubbles escape her mouth and rise to the surface as she remembered her brother's tendency to exaggerate.

Decisively, she propelled herself through the archway, noticing that Brother's team of divers had finally caught up to her. Motioning for them to follow, she swam into the underwater hallway.

As she stepped up onto a rocky stairway, she brushed off her wetsuit, shivering briefly from the cold. Her escorts remained silent, content to gaze at her stonily.

Rikku simply shrugged and burst through the doors in front of them. Her eyes were immediately greeted by a young man awkwardly brandishing a sword at a Klikk. Without thinking, Rikku quickly jumped into battle beside the light-haired man, throwing a grenade at the creature. He was desperately in need of help if he thought that he could defeat a fiend while holding his sword like that.

"You're on my side!" the young man said incredulously in Spiran. "Cool!"

She simply shook her head and threw another grenade, wondering what a Yevonite was doing so far away from the continent. As she studied his swordplay, Rikku quickly squashed the idea that he had been dispatched by the church to spy on them. His knowledge of fighting was rudimentary at best, although he seemed naturally physically fit.

Spinning, Rikku unleashed another grenade on the Klikk, causing it to stumble, fall, and dissolve into hundreds of wailing pyreflies. Breathing a sigh of relief, she pushed her goggles up onto her forehead to study the young man. Upon further inspection, he wasn't bad looking.

"Whew!" the young man exclaimed, "That was close." Rikku was about to nod when she saw that one of Brother's men had grabbed the unknown teenager from behind.

"Hey! Lemme go!" the young man shrieked in surprise.

"Fryd ed drec?"(_What is this?_) one of the surly-looking men asked. Rikku groaned. The last thing she wanted to do was start some sort of incident between the Al Bhed and the Yevonites.

"Y fiend! Eh risyh teckieca!"(_A fiend, in human disguise!_) another one of Brother's men replied.

"Oac! Ed ec cu!"(_Yes! It is so!_) the first man agreed. Rikku stood still, dumbfounded. She had always questioned the intelligence level of Brother's friends, but she hadn't thought that they were this stupid. Rikku studied the young man once more. He was trembling, whether out of fear or the cold she couldn't be sure. What she was sure of, especially after watching his fighting stance, was that this man was no fiend.

"Fa gemm ed?"(_We kill it?_)

At this, the meaner-looking man pulled out a knife and held it beneath the unknown man's throat. Rikku nearly slapped herself on the forehead in disgust before jumping forward.

"Fyed!"(_Wait!_) she called out to them. She briefly paused, searching for the simplest of sentences that these men would understand.

"Fryd ev ed ec risyh?"(_What if it's human?_) she cautiously asked the men.

"Drao yna dra cysa eh taydr,"(_They are the same in death._) the most eager-looking of Brother's friends replied.

"E vunpet ed! Fa pnehk ed fedr ic!"(_I forbid it! We bring it with us!_) Once more, Rikku hoped that her tone was commanding enough to sway them. Before any of them could take action, she walked decisively forward and pulled the unknown Yevonite towards her. 

"Cunno,"(_Sorry_) she whispered into his ear before punching him in the stomach to knock him unconscious.


	10. Salvage

Hey all, I still don't own Final Fantasy X. If I did…then Aurikku would be canon…bwhahaha.

Soooo…it's another Rikku and Al Bhed chapter, and like the last one, there is both Al Bhed and 'English' (or as I call it Spiran) dialogue. I've had a few complaints about the scrolling involved to read the translated bits in the last chapter so I'm doing things a little differently for this one. Here's where you, gentle reader, come in. I really need feedback on this, so please review and tell me which system you prefer. After I get some feedback, I'll switch one of the chapters to match the other one and use that system as a standard for the rest of the story.

Got it? Phew! Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

"_Hey! Al Bhed Psyches, right?_

_Some Al Bhed saved me the other day and…_

_This girl Rikku gave me food and…_

_Uhhh…you don't understand me, do you?_

_Uhhh…anyway, if you meet Rikku, tell her thanks for me!"_

_-Tidus_

As Rikku walked authoritatively back into the cabin of the salvage ship, she paused to look at the poor sap that Brother's men had dragged in with a great amount of sympathy. Her brother's two brutish friends hadn't bothered to pick him up off of the ground, although she was certain they had the ability, and as a result the young man had been dragged none too carefully over the narrow stone pathways of the ruins, and then the somewhat rough metal surface of the deck. He lay slumped, still unconscious, on the deck while two of Brother's men watched over him.

"Fryd ec dra sayhehk uv drec?"(_What is the meaning of this?_) Brother bellowed as he burst through the doors that led from the bridge to the cabin.

"Fa yna hud y byccahkan creb! Fryd ev ed ec y fiend?"(_We are not a passenger ship! What if it is a_ _fiend?_) He continued to shriek, waving his hands wildly through the air.

Rikku gritted her teeth in disgust and massaged her temples briefly with her fingers to calm herself down before gesturing wildly herself and screaming back.

"Yna oui cdibet, Pnudran?"(_Are you stupid, Brother?_) She gestured in the direction of where the stranger was slumped on the deck, despite the fact that the cabin doors were closed. "Y fiend lyh'd dyga uh risyh vuns!"(_A fiend can't take on human form!_)

"Cusa lyh!"(_Some can!_) Brother quickly retorted.

"Naymmo…?"(_Really…?_) Rikku dragged out the word as long as possible before folding her arms over her chest in defiance. "Ryja oui caah uha?"(_Have you seen one?_) she asked slyly.

At this, Brother nervously shifted from side to side, and seemed to have discovered a newfound interest in his shoes.

"Aha!" Rikku crowed. "Drao tuh'd aqecd!"(_They don't exist!_)

"Drao tu!"(_They do!_)

"Drao tuh'd!"(_They don't!_)

"Drao tu, yht dryd drehk muugc aqysdmo mega uha fuimt muug mega!"(_They do, and that thing looks exactly like one would look like!_) Brother cried out, pointing in the general vicinity of the young man.

Rikku curled her fists and screamed. "Hu ra tuach'd palyica oui syta drec ib du esbnacc ouin cdibet, cdibet vneahtc!"(_No he doesn't because you made this up to impress your stupid, stupid friends!_)

"Tuh'd lymm so vneahtc cdibet!"(_Don't call my friends stupid!_)

The two stood across from each other, fists clenched and breathing heavily, at an impass of sorts. Brother stepped back and relaxed for a moment. As he opened his mouth, Rikku presumed it was to say something, a shout was heard from the deck.

"Hey, that hurts!" Rikku heard the young man shout out in a rather piercing voice. She could hear the low voices of one of the guards, but she couldn't make out what Brother's friend was saying.

"Whoa! Okay!" Rikku heard the young man acquiesce and glanced at Brother. In an instant the two of them bolted for the door. Rikku reached it first and quickly collected herself before stepping calmly outside. Brother followed her closely, all but nipping at her heels.

"Caynlr res!(_Search him!_) Brother ordered the men as he motioned with his hands. Rikku growled lowly at how easily Brother had undermined her authority. She looked at the young man again. His young, but admittedly good-looking face, was scrunched up in confusion.

"Right. Whatever," the blond-haired man responded.

"Tu oui hud cbayg?"(_Do you not speak?_)

Rikku had to stop herself from slapping her forehead with her palm in reaction to her brother's ignorance. It was plainly obvious that Brother had no real concept of how most people in Spira spoke. She wondered briefly if he knew that other people existed in Spira. As she experienced more of Brother, Rikku began to realize why Cid had not chosen him as the next leader of the Al Bhed."I said I don't understand!" the young man whined. Which was not, as Rikku knew, actually what the young man had said; however she was now certain he assumed that none of them spoke his language. She paused again to ponder what a Yevonite was doing this far away from the main continent, and suddenly realized that he had yet to comment on their race. This confused Rikku further.

"Ehcumahla!"(_Insolence!_)

At this accusation from Brother, one of his faithful minions shifted to point a loaded gun at the young man's chest. Rikku sprang forward.

"Fyed!"(_Wait!_) she ordered. "He said you can stay if you make yourself useful," she continued nervously, hoping that if this young man could make himself useful to their operation that Brother would allow him to live.

Brother looked at his younger sister in disbelief. Rikku knew that it wasn't what she had said that shocked him, but the fact that she knew the Yevonite language.

"You…you understand me?" the young man stuttered. Not comprehending the young man's question, the guard poked him sharply in the back with his rifle.

"Alright! I'll work!" exclaimed the young man in a frightened whine. Rikku nodded at Brother who, in turn, shook his head at his guards. The two surly-looking men reluctantly stepped away and allowed the young man to rise to his feet. He made a beeline for Rikku and her mouth curved into a small smile. Apparently, all of the long hours spent learning Spiran from Cid wouldn't go to waste after all.

"Oh!" she paused before the young man reached her. "I almost forgot!" She pulled the young man aside and began to instruct him on some basic sphere techniques that he could use to strengthen himself. After seeing his awkward and rather useless fighting style, Rikku thought that she'd start with the basics.

As he listened intently as she taught him how to use the sphere grid, Rikku's curiosity about this man continued to grow. She hadn't heard of one Yevonite, or even one person, in Spira that couldn't use a simple sphere grid. With Sin, and countless fiends around, everyone in Spira, including the Al Bhed, was required to learn at least the basics of fighting. Rikku narrowed her eyes, but continued to explain the grid to him as she wracked her brain for a logical explanation of the young man's complete lack of knowledge.

Nodding in some semblance of understanding, the young man grinned and walked over to the salvage crane on the side of the boat.

"What's this, some kind of crane?" he asked. Rikku opened her mouth to tell him, but was cut off by Brother.

"Rao, oui! Kad yfyo vnus drana!"(_Hey, you! Get away from there!_) Brother yelled. Rikku shook her head and sighed as the frightened young man returned to her side.

"We found some ancient ruins right beneath us," Rikku stepped in to explain. "It's not active now, but there should still be some power left." The young man nodded; however, Rikku could tell that he didn't really understand what was going on.

"We're gonna go down there and activate it," Rikku said, her voice becoming more excited. "And then we should be able to salvage the big prize!" she all but cheered, raising one of her fists in the air. The young man nodded in agreement.

"Okay! Let's get to work!" Rikku said cheerily.

"Roger!" the young man responded.


	11. The Toxin

A HUGE shout out to everyone who wrote feedback on the Al Bhed translation system. I have now changed chapter nine, and chapter two, to match chapter ten and will use this side-by-side translation system for the rest of the story.

And another HUGE shout out to everyone who has reviewed and followed the story up to this point. I'm ecstatic that so many of you like this story, mainly because I love this story and have a lot of plans for it.

Anyway, enough gushing, it's chapter ten, I still don't own Final Fantasy X, and thus and therefore.

_"Uh, I meant... Forget that._

_  
I got too, uh...close to Sin and my head's all foggy-like._

_  
So I don't know where this place is. Or even where I came from."_

_-Tidus_

As Rikku pulled herself onto the deck of the salvage ship, she paused to collapse for a minute, breathing heavily. She glanced over at the light-haired man who was standing in a pool of brackish seawater that had been dripping off of his body.

Rikku gave the young man a begrudgingly appreciative look. He may not know the particulars of fighting off fiends, but he was strong, fit, and made up for his lack of knowledge with an odd sense of enthusiasm. He also had been able to hold his breath for a very long period of time. Rikku noted this fact quickly and assumed that he must be some sort of blitz player. He grinned back and she was once again struck by how good-looking he was.

Shaking her head, to remove water from her ears as well bring her mind back from the clouds, she stood up and strode happily into the cabin.

"Pnudran! Fa vuiht ed!"(_Brother, we found it!_) Rikku all but sang as she walked through the door. "Vydran femm pa cu rybbo!"(_Father will be so happy!_)

"Oac,"(_Yes,_) Brother replied in agreement. "Huf, ruf tu fa pnehk ed ib vnus dra puddus uv dra cay?"(_Now how do we bring it up from the bottom of the sea?_) Brother gestured dramatically. Rikku rolled her eyes, but passed on this opportunity to make fun of her other brother. She was still in a charitable good mood from the successful dive.

"Famm,"(_Well,_) Rikku began, "E ryja y vaf etayc…"(_I have a few ideas_…)

"Hey! I helped out didn't I?"

A whiny voice rang out in the dank atmosphere, interrupting Rikku's speculation. She turned to see Brother's posse trickling into the cabin, grunting and laughing amongst themselves.

"Fryd tet oui tu?"(_What did you do?_) Rikku asked accusingly, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis.

One of the men pulled off his gas mask and leered at her. It was the first time Rikku had seen him without it, despite the fact that its practical uses didn't apply on a salvage ship. After quickly comparing the two, Rikku decided that she preferred the mask to the bloated and red face underneath.

"Hudrehk ra tethd tacanja,"(_Nothing he didn't deserve,_) the now maskless man replied as he looked her indignant figure up and down.

Rikku decided to ignore him, and turned to her brother instead. "Drec sicd cdub!"(_This must stop!_) she ordered. "E fuh'd ced po yht fydlr drec syh pa dnaydat drec fyo!"(_I won't sit by and watch this man be treated this way!_) She punctuated the end of her statement with a loud, metallic stomp on the deck, only in hindsight realizing that her childish stomp could jeopardize her attempt to take control.

Luckily, for Rikku, Brother was far more childish and didn't take advantage of her loss of ground. "Ruf tu fa ghuf ed ec risyh?"(_How do we know it is human?_) he taunted.

"Oui ghuf ra'c risyh!"(_You know he's human!_) Rikku shouted, frustrated that their argument was only regressing. She paused briefly to inhale and quickly continued before her older brother could counter her statement.

"Yht ev ra ryth'd rambat fedr drec secceuh E fuimt pa tayt!"(_And if he hadn't helped with this mission I would be dead!_) Rikku crossed her arms and cast a defiant look at Brother. It was a slight overstatement, especially considering the young man's obvious inexperience, but he had tried.

Brother paused and ran a nervous hand through his bristle-brush mohawk. Rikku could practically see the rusty cogs slowly turning in her eldest sibling's mind.

On the one hand, if he admitted that Rikku was right, he would lose his authority over, and probably his standing with, his friends. Rikku knew that her brother had always had a rough time trying to find friends. Despite the fact that they had usually been on the move during their childhood, Rikku had never experience trouble in finding a friend or two; however, Brother had been a different story. He had always been a little too overeager and overzealous.

She continued to study her brother as he contemplated his options. If Brother defied her, Rikku knew Cid would let him have it, especially if a Yevonite was killed, and their father was a very scary man when he was angry. In fact, their father was a very scary man in general, Rikku mused. It was this lovely quality of Cid's that Rikku was counting on Brother remembering.

"Oui feh,"(_You win,_) Brother capitulated finally, hanging his head.

Rikku forgot, for a moment, about maintaining her authoritative, tough exterior and jumped up in the air cheering. "Oui fuh'd naknad ed Pnudran! Dryhg oui!"(_You won't regret it, Brother! Thank you!_) she said excitedly, embracing him in a rare hug. Brother threw his hands up in defeat and stalked away to the bridge as Rikku quickly turned to glare at his crew.

"Oui rayn dryd?"(_You hear that?_) she asked fiercely. "Tuh'd rind des!"(_Don't hurt him!_) When her Brother's men refused to respond, she put her hands on her hips once more and threw her head high in the air.

"Ed ec yh untan!"(_It is an order!_) she yelled bitingly at them before turning on her heels and walking out of the cabin towards her quarters.

No sooner had the door to the cabin closed behind her when Rikku burst into giggles and pumped her fist in the air. Being a leader was obviously what she had been born to do, she thought to herself as she opened the door to her quarters.

Having the privilege, or dubious honor depending on who was asked, of being the only female on the salvage ship, Rikku had an entire room to herself. Cid had insisted on it and, until today, Rikku hadn't really cared one way or the other. Remembering the maskless man's leer, Rikku shuddered as she shrugged her wetsuit off and flopped noisy down on her bed.

Cocking her head to the side, she lay on her back and studied a small, dark water stain on the ceiling. From one angle, it nearly resembled a cactuar. Rikku sat up with a start, quickly jotting down a note, which she stuck to the wall among hundreds of its kind, reminding herself to let Cid know about the cactuar legend she had learned

"E fuhtan ev E lyh naymmo bycc drnuikr dra cyhtcduns?"(_I wonder if I can really pass through the sandstorm?_) she mused aloud.

Sighing, Rikku closed her eyes and lay still in her bed. "Ur Gippal,"(_Oh, Gippal_) she whispered softly. "E fecr oui fana cdemm rana."(_I wish you were still here._)

Hours later, Rikku awoke with a start. Quickly springing up from her bed, she pulled her wetsuit on and burst into the cabin.

"Fryd ec dra nicr?"(_What is the rush?_) Brother asked nonchalantly, not looking up from the makeshift game of cards that had been set up in the center of the cabin during her absence.

Rikku's only response was a shrug as she slowed her pace and attempted a saunter over to the small kitchen in the corner of the cabin.

"Tet oui keja des vuut oad?"(_Did you give him food yet?_) she asked.

Brother placed two of his cards on the table and tapped the edge of it lightly before shrugging his shoulders. "Fa ymm yda,"(_We all ate,_) he responded simply.

Rikku grit her teeth in frustration, and valiantly tried to keep her frustration from seeping into her speech. "Pid hud dra bnecuhan?"(_But not the prisoner?_)

"Hud dra bnecuhan."(_Not the prisoner_.)

She nodded and quickly threw together a sampling of food on a platter. Squinting her eyes and nose as she held it out in front of her, Rikku sniffed. It wasn't the best food on Spira, but it wasn't bad enough that letting him starve would be the more humane option.

As the door to the deck opened, she saw the young man sitting, rather pathetically, with his back to the door. She tapped him on his shoulder before sliding the tray in front of him.

"Whoa! Right on!" the young man exclaimed before diving into the food. Rikku watched him scarf down the meager dinner with amusement, which quickly turned into concern as he began to choke.

"Hey!" she called to get his attention before throwing a bottle of water in his direction. The young man noisily chugged down the water before collapsing with a grateful sigh.

"It's 'cause you eat too fast!" Rikku stated cheerily.

The young man laughed as he rose up from the metallic floor of the deck and stretched. Curious, and not wanting to be ignored, Rikku followed him before calling out, "Hey!" again.

"Hello there, what's your name?" the young man asked.

Rikku stopped herself from scratching her head as she thought to herself. His simple sentence structure and odd demeanor piqued her interest. She quickly ran through a few possibilities, including the fact that he might be mentally underdeveloped, before responding.

"Rikku," she said concisely, in case he didn't understand. Instead, the young man cheered and laughed, a genuine smile brightening his face.

"Whoa! You really do understand!" he cheered. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I didn't get a chance to!" Rikku countered indignantly. "Everyone thought oui were a fiend."

"Uh…'we?'" the young man asked, obviously confused.

"Oh, 'oui' means 'you,'" she explained as the light-haired man paused to think.

"Who are you guys anyway?"

Rikku scrunched up her face and gave him a hard stare. There wasn't anyone on Spira who wouldn't at least know that they were Al Bhed. If the clothes hadn't given it away, the language surely had, and yet the young man continued to stare at her strangely.

"We're Al Bhed, can't you tell?" Rikku asked. She suddenly felt a tendril of fear in the pit of her stomach but quickly squashed it. After all, if he had wanted to do something terrible to them, he would have done it by now, she thought.

"Wait," she hurriedly continued before she could stop herself. "You're not an Al-Bhed hater are you?" She instinctively turned her face away from the young man to hide her bright, green, spiraled eyes.

The young man threw his hands up in a hopeless gesture and shrugged. "I don't even know what an Al Bhed is."

Rikku was floored. "Where are you from?" she asked incredulously. She didn't think that there was a place on Spira where people hadn't heard of the Al Bhed. The High Priests of Yevon were forever condemning the Al Bhed to the populace for violating their teachings. Either the young man was from a place that she had never heard of, or he was lying.

"Zanarkand," he replied earnestly, grinning widely. "I'm a blitzball player. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes."

She stared at him. The young man was either crazy, or playing a practical joke. Rikku was inclined to believe the latter, and slowly began to edge away from the man.

"Did you…hit your head or something?" she asked. It was the only thing that she could think of to respond.

"Um…you guys hit me," the young man said, still grinning.

Rikku narrowed her eyes at the young man and leaned towards him. "Oh right," she agreed good-naturedly. "Do you remember anything before that?"

The young man's eyes lit up with enthusiasm and he leaned in, beginning to talk animatedly about Zanarkand. Rikku listened to enough of his conversation to respond and appear interested, however her mind kept returning to the way he had said, 'Star player of the Zanarkand Abes' so matter-of-factly. If he was lying the young man was very talented at it.

Rikku sighed. She would simply have to listen to his story more attentively. If he kept talking, there was a chance that he could slip up and either stumble over his lie, or, at the very least, drop a few hints as to where he was really from.

"So then, he threw me this sword! He said it was from my old man, but that's impossible. I mean, my old man has been gone for ten years, and there's no way he ever knew how to swordfight."

At this statement, Rikku suddenly realized why his sword fighting technique had been so bad. If his story was true, which was a ludicrous assumption in of itself, this was the first day he had ever picked up the weapon.

"So we were surrounded by these creatures, and then the road began to fall apart! Suddenly, there was this really bright light and Auron kind of shoved me into it…"

Her mind abruptly latched onto the name 'Auron.' For some reason, Rikku knew she had heard that name before, but she couldn't remember where. It was definitely a Spiran name. And Sin had been in the young man's story too, so he was definitely from somewhere in Spira.

"Did I say something funny?" Rikku looked up to see the light-haired man staring at her imploringly. His eyes seemed to be begging her to validate something, anything, that she had heard in his story. Rikku tapped her chin thoughtfully before responding.

"You were near Sin…" she began, finally realizing what had been happening. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rikku hadn't wanted her first attempt at leading to have ended with a psychotic prisoner attacking everyone onboard.

"Don't worry, you'll be better in no time," she said reassuringly. "They say you're head gets funny when Sin is near. Maybe you just had some kind of dream?"

"You mean I'm sick?" the young man replied as he looked at Rikku disbelievingly.

"Because of Sin's toxin, yeah," Rikku said.

"You sure?" he asked, his voice trembling and cracking. Rikku cocked her head to the side and studied him again. He seemed very upset.

"Yeah," she said softly. "There is no Zanarkand anymore. Sin destroyed it a thousand years ago."

"What do you mean a thousand years ago?" the young man frantically asked. "But I saw Sin attack Zanarkand! You're saying that happened a thousand years ago? No way!"

Rikku blanched at his indignant tone. "You said…" she began, and then thought better of it. It was pointless to argue with someone who had been exposed to high levels of Sin's toxin. In some ways, it would have been easier to deal with the young man if he had been crazy.

"You play blitzball?"

The young man nodded his affirmative.

"You know, you should go to Luca. Someone might know who you are, or you might find someone you recognize." Inwardly Rikku praised herself for such a brilliant idea on short notice.

"Luca?" the young man responded.

Rikku groaned and shook her head before walking away from the young man in frustration. "Namyq, Rikku,"(_Relax, Rikku_) she murmured to herself out of his earshot. "Ra tuach'd ghuf fryd ra'c cyoehk. Hu uha ec dryd cdibet."(_He doesn't know what he's saying. No one is that stupid._)

Striding back to the young man, Rikku firmly tapped him on the back. "Okay, leave it to me! I'll get you to Luca, I promise." As she grinned at the young man, he weakly smiled back.

"You'd rather stay here?" she asked out of disbelief. When the young man nodded his affirmative again, Rikku shrugged and sighed. It wouldn't be easy to convince Brother to keep him on the boat; however, fresh from her recent victory, Rikku felt as if she could eventually persuade him.

"Okay, I'll go tell the others," she told the young man as she began to walk towards the cabin door. "Oh! And one thing," Rikku remembered to say before she went to negotiate with Brother, "don't tell anyone you're from Zanarkand, okay? Yevon says it's a holy place. You might upset someone." Rikku waited for the young man's nod before disappearing into the cabin.

No sooner had she walked in when the ship gave a huge creak and shook. Rikku was unceremoniously thrown against one end of the cabin. As she fumbled to stand up, the ship rocked to the other side and Rikku spun across the cabin floor. There was a loud thud, and then everything went dark.


	12. Homecoming

So it's been awhile, with finishing up school and working nearly 40 hours a week. However, I love this story, and hopefully people will still want to read it. I still don't own FFX, although that would be pretty sweet if I did.

"_The red carpet has teeth."_

_-Auron_

It was cold. The chill of the wind caused an icy tingling in his fingers and, for a moment, Auron nearly thought that he was alive. Clenching his fists, he steeled himself for the inevitable pull of death as he watched Jecht, no, Sin now, turn after depositing him on the frozen shores of Macalania.

He surveyed his surroundings, rose from the ground, using his katana for support, and found the scenery as unchanged as he was. His dry laugh cracked through the bitter air. Now that he had returned to Spira, it would now be harder to conceal his condition. A series of events had just been set in motion to reach an end he wasn't sure was even possible, and, at the very least, was far beyond his control. Despite all of these obstacles, Auron felt a warming sensation spread through his chest, completely unrelated to the large swig of alcohol he had just taken. For some unknown reason, Auron found himself surprisingly relieved to be home.

"Interesting," he said sardonically to the silent lake and he turned to be greeted by the sight of a small building that had popped up in his long absence. As he walked towards it, Auron noticed that the detailing and style of the building were decidedly Al Bhed.

"Well, perhaps things do change," he said flatly, raising an eyebrow at the merrily lit windows casting their warm light onto the snow drifts. Coughing, he turned and walked into the darkening forest.

The weight on his shoulders that, until this point, Auron had not realized he carried, lifted suddenly as he entered a glittering clearing. Slowly, he ran a callused finger down a small twig on the nearest sapling. The bark was smooth and cool to the touch, encased in the memory-retaining material that enveloped Macalania.

Auron laughed heartily as he joined his friend's hands with his fiancee's.

"Kinoc," Auron faltered as he smiled into the beaming round face of his friend.

"Pavia," he said, keeping her hands joined with Kinoc's. Her pale skin nearly glowed in the light of the forest. "Are you sure that this is what you both want?" As Auron looked back and forth between his two friends they both nodded, Pavia, stately and serene, and Kinoc, vigorously bobbing his head.

"We know you are no priest…" Pavia began sweetly.

"This is the way we want it," Kinoc interrupted, stumbling over his words as he blurted them out. Pavia clasped her hands firmly in his, as if to steady him. Auron nodded and led the two out onto the ice of the frozen pond. Pavia's suggestion of Macalania forest had been perfect. It was near to Bevelle, but secluded, except for the occasional warrior monk or summoner on pilgrimage.

Auron was suddenly startled out of his thoughts by the shattering sound of the twig as it broke and smashed onto the mossy knoll of the pond, glittering and tinkling until each shard seemed to evaporate into the air. The water's surface shimmered now as ripples made their way through the pond, lapping the shore in gentle waves.

The sounds of the water agitated Auron while he began to start a small fire at the pond's edge. When Pavia and Kinoc had married, the small lake had been frozen solid. Even on the shores of the broad lake Macalania, Auron had heard the low groans and creaks from the ice breaking. Somehow, Macalania was slowly thawing.

Unsettled, Auron continued to build a fire until it crackled enough to scare away any ice fiends that chanced to wander into the clearing.


	13. Aftermath

Chapters where all of the speakers are Al-Bhed, like this one, it is assumed that they are speaking in Al-Bhed the entire time, despite the fact that it is all written in English. In chapters with mixed speakers the Al-Bhed will be written and then translated in parentheses.

Thanks for continuing to read, and sorry about the crappy last chapter. I still am in love with this story and I've had a hell of a time trying to figure out where to go until the point where they meet up. (I've actually already written that part, it's just getting there that's hard!) -A.J.

"_I'm not scared! I'm NOT scared, you hear!?"_

_-Rikku_

"Rikku!! Come inside. It's raining, stupid!!"

"I know that, STUPID. I just wanna see what this is…"

Brother sighed and sat down on the docks, looking nervously up at the black clouds gathering over the oasis. He blew out his breath and began to pick slowly at a scab on his arm as he waited.

"Hurry up or father will be angry!"

There was no answer from his sister as she was already underwater, searching for the glint that had caught her eye earlier that afternoon.

Squinting his eyes, Brother noticed a shadow moving beneath the glassy surface and stood up in alarm.

"Rikku!"

He cried out nervously. There was no answer as the shadow came closer.

"Sister! Rikku!"

Brother began to scream and pace back and forth on the dock. He knew he had to do something quickly. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and put his palms together.

Suddenly, the form of his sister emerged from the water.

"What're you yelling about?"

Brother gasped. The slight surprise broke his concentration. A small fork of lightning descended from the sky and hit his sister squarely in the chest.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Brother called out as Rikku screamed. The shadowy figure of the fiend had disappeared completely.

"You almost KILLED me, you meanie!" his sister yelled, outraged as she stomped out of the oasis and collapsed onto the sandy shore.

"I didn't mean to! You know water fiends hate lightning!"

His sister's eyes closed and big tears squeezed out of the corners slowly, dropping onto the sand.

"Get up, we need to go home."

It was all Brother could think to say as he grabbed her hand and tried to drag her up.

"C'mon, it's gonna rain!"

"I'm not going anywhere with you! You'll try to kill me again!"

"I wasn't TRYING to kill you!! Get up!!"

Rikku coughed and gasped for air. Hunching over, she vomited seawater onto the deck of the salvage ship. Closing her eyes, she lay down on the wet metal deck. The sturdiness of the metal soothed her and she tentatively caressed it with her fingertips. It was sunny, and the harshness of the bright light hurt her eyes.

"Rikku, are you ok? Get up," she heard Brother call out to her. Opening her eyes, her vision swam and then narrowed into focus. Brother was standing over her with a concerned look, offering his hand.

"Yeah, I'm ok."

She grasped his wrist, allowing him to pull her up off of the deck.

"Is anyone hurt?"

Brother avoided her gaze and looked out across the calm surface of the ocean. Rikku didn't need to ask again.

"I'm sorry. Can't really say I was a fan, but, erm…yeah." She laughed weakly at her small joke and patted her brother on the back softly.

"So where are we?" Rikku asked, quickly changing the subject. That was best. Orient yourself and move on. She had done it her entire life.

Brother's friend, the one with the mask over his face, exited the cabin and walked dejectedly out onto the deck. Rikku nearly gasped with surprise but then chided herself. She shouldn't have assumed that all of Brother's friends had died.

"We'll chart a course to Home."

Rikku scrunched up her face and glared at her brother.

"You know what pops would say if we don't bring back that machina, right?"

"I don't want to deal with Sin anymore!"

"Too bad! As pops would say, Sin's a part of the job. And anyway, that's kind of what we're doing right? This is our plan to defeat Sin. We need that machina!"

Brother frowned and looked out over the ocean again. It was an idyllic scene, sunny and warm, with a gentle breeze whipping up the lightest of waves in the bright blue water.

"You're right!" He said, thrusting his fist towards the sky dramatically. Rikku groaned. "It'll be tough, but we'll finish this mission for the good of the Al-Bhed, and the good of all Spira!"

Rikku put her head in her hands and sighed. At least Brother was inspired enough to finish the mission. Mumbling to himself about being the hero of Spira, Brother waltzed back towards the cabin excitedly leaving Rikku alone on the deck.

She slowly walked towards the edge of the deck, stopping to lean on the guardrail.

"Gippal, where are you?" she whispered softly into the breeze.

Rikku was convinced that the temples had something to do with Gippal's disappearance. Although she didn't hate them as much as she had previously, she still knew that sacrificing people was wrong.

She smiled as she thought of Cid's new two-part plan. First, they would gather all of the summoners and keep them in a safe place, in Home. Then they would launch a full-on assault against Sin! Rikku nearly clapped her hands with excitement as she thought about it. Then, maybe, the Al Bhed would be heroes.

Rikku absentmindedly traced Gippal's name in the wet droplets on the metal railing. Cid had mentioned something about teaming up with the Yevonites in the assault. Maybe Gippal would be there. She stared across the water as the breeze picked up, curling and drying her hair as it tickled her face. Cid had mentioned a name that she had only heard one other time. Kinoc. Even if Gippal wasn't at the battle, Kinoc might know where he was, and why he had disappeared.


	14. Reunion

_"I am Seymour Guado. I am honored to receive the title of maester.  
In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado.  
I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as maester to the best of my abilities."_

_-Seymour_

"Too bad man, but there's always next year." Houkiboshi said.

Kyuu continued to swirl his glass and gaze off at the ongoing match. Houkiboshi was worried. It was a rarity that Houkiboshi was allowed to look at his friend's face. His warrior mask was occupying the seat next to them, and Kyuu's face underneath was pale and drawn.

"I was hoping for this year," Kyuu grumbled and drained the rest of his drink. His next words were interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Take it easy tough guy." Houkiboshi knew that between the Crusaders and training for blitzball, Kyuu didn't leave time for anything else, including the occasional social drink.

"Yeah, yeah."

"How's Operation Mi'hen coming?" Houkiboshi asked, trying to steer the conversation away from his friend's disappointing showing at tryouts. Kyuu narrowed his eyes.

"You know I'm not supposed to talk about it." Houkiboshi's mouth turned down in a mock pout.

"Not even to me, your supposed best friend?" After a long, unanswered pause, Houkiboshi glared at Kyuu. "Okay, it was a joke the first time, but now I wouldn't mind some reassurance…Kyuu?" The concern in Houkiboshi's voice had no effect. Kyuu, still staring in a different direction from both his friend and the blitzball match, grabbed Houkiboshi by the chin and jerked his face around sharply.

"…the Hell!? What's wrong with…"

"Shut up!" Kyuu whispered. "Don't you know who that is?"

Houkiboshi indignantly paused to look at what occupied Kyuu's attention. A large, middle-aged man sat quietly concentrating on the game. He wore a crimson haori, denoting a high rank in the warrior monks.

"A bigwig?" Houkiboshi shrugged, "They're crawling all over the place. Even uptight stiffs like you enjoy the tournament."

"Idiot! That's Sir Auron. The Sir Auron of Bevelle."

"You mean that guy you used to idolize when we were kids? Isn't he dead? I thought he died after the last Calm."

"He would appear not to be." Kyuu attempted to say this dryly, but a hint of excitement quickly crept into his voice.

The crowd suddenly erupted into a large cheer. Houkiboshi quickly looked out towards the sphere pool.

"Unbelievable! The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!" Bobba the announcer yelled into his microphone.

"Wait, aren't we in Luca? Shouldn't they be pissed that the Goers lost?"

"Everyone loves an underdog," Kyuu replied, straining his neck to keep Sir Auron in sight.

Houkiboshi shrugged and then shivered. "Hey," he nudged Kyuu, "is it getting colder in here somehow?" Around them, the cheers began to turn into panicked screams.

"Are those sahagin chiefs in the sphere pool?" Kyuu squinted his eyes. It appeared as if the blond-haired forward was beating the monsters back with a sword.

"What's going on?" Houkiboshi was beginning to sound panicked himself.

.o. .o. .o. .o. .o. .o. .o. .o.

Auron had waited for this moment a long time. Today was the day. All of his plans, all of Jecht's plans, they were all thrust into motion today. He had felt the anticipation and his hand had itched for his sword since Grand Maester Mika had begun his opening speech.

Gripping the hilt of his katana tightly, he drew his weapon and prepared to annihilate the nearest beast. Auron smiled at the satisfying shrieking sound as he tore through the voivre's thick hide. The smell of blood complimented the quiet screams of the pyreflies as the animal died.

"Auron!"

"Sir Auron!"

Auron smirked, recognizing the high-pitched voice of Tidus. Another man was running towards him that he vaguely recognized from the blitzball game. Auron turned from them to face an oncoming garuda.

"So you do know him," Auron heard Tidus say.

"Yeah. Best guardian there ever was," the young man replied in a Besaid accent.

Auron sneered as the two approached. Springing forward, Tidus got in a few quick slashes through the surprisingly thick underbelly. As the garuda flailed in the air, Auron jumped, avoiding a gush of entrails, and sliced neatly through its left wing. Thick droplets of purple blood rained down on them. The pyreflies began to clear as a new group of fiends moved in.

"Hey, gimme a break!" Tidus whined as he neatly blocked an attack from an eager dingo. In an attempt to attack the creature, Tidus miscalculated, and ended up bludgeoning it on the side of the head instead. Despite this mishap, Auron smiled as he watched Tidus wield his sword. The boy had improved since Auron had last seen him try to fight. Brandishing the weapon, Tidus stepped forward for another attack and barely had time to stop his sword as Auron suddenly stepped in front of him.

"What's the big idea, old man?" Tidus asked angrily.

"Watch." Auron pointed to the reserved seats. Seymour had stood from his chair and was beginning to pray. His face was eerie, and although he smiled, it somehow appeared devoid of any emotion. Screams echoed from spectators and fiends alike as a giant anchor descended from the sky and plunged into the depths of the stadium. A chained body rose, writhing in agony as it let out several large blasts of energy. Auron calmly watched Seymour while Tidus fell to the floor, covering his ears with his hands. The fiends around the stadium slowly disintegrated as Seymour smiled.


	15. Value

Thank you to everyone and anyone who has stuck with reading this story at all. It has been proven very difficult to write, especially the 'in-between' parts. As I've said before, the part where Auron and Rikku actually meet has already been written. It's the getting there that has proven to be the harder, and worthier part. This story is designed to be an epic, one that encompasses both Auron and Rikku's lives. So thanks for sticking with this story. It means a lot to me. And don't worry, there are only a few more chapters before they actually speak to each other!

In other news, I still don't own FFX.

"_Even for a little while,_

_People can sleep in their beds without being afraid_

_That kind of time is worth anything._

_Don't say it isn't worth it."_

_-Yuna_

"The Oblitzerator? Is that really what you're calling this piece of junk?"

Rikku gave the large machina a kick and swore she could hear it groan in reply. She glowered at it with the sneaking suspicion that if she looked at the machina long enough, it would simply fall apart under her menacing stare. Putting her hands on her hips, she glared up at Brother through her goggles.

"There is absolutely NO WAY that this is going to work! How did Father ever agree to let you use this shitty piece of trash! Do you even have a plan?"

"Of course I have a plan!" Brother began screaming back at her, waving his arms wildly around as he spoke.

Rikku wasn't sure if he was actually that angry at her, or if he was just indulging in his love of screaming loudly. She reached up and pushed her mechanic goggles up into her hair so she could look Brother directly in the eye.

"So what is it?"

"It's perfect! I've already talked to the blitzball team, and they've agreed to comply with my plan completely," he began. Rikku stared incredulously as he continued. She was honestly surprised that he had bothered to come up with a plan at all, instead of blundering in like he usually did.

"Then, after they get the Aurochs to throw the match…"

"Wait! What?" Rikku came in on the tail end of her brother's sentence and interrupted him. "Are you talking about the Besaid Aurochs? They're terrible! How is that in any way going to be a believable kidnapping reason?"

"Us players take our blitzball very seriously," he replied.

"You don't even play blitzball!"

Rikku realized that she was the one screaming now, but was too annoyed to care. She found herself continually frustrated and disappointed with her brother's plans.

"You'll see, Rikku! It'll work perfectly!"

With a flourish, Brother stomped into the cockpit of the large machina and turned it on. Rikku quickly covered her ears and winced at the squealing sound that the gears began to emit.

"You might need some grease on that thing," she yelled towards the hissing machine, knowing that her brother was well beyond hearing range. Pulling her goggles back on, she grunted in frustration and walked out of the garage into bright sunlight.

Rikku collapsed on the ground, letting the warm sun wash over her body in comforting waves. She was exhausted, tired from squabbling with her family members and working on her own piece of machina. Her work had now become a crucial part in her father's back-up plan to Operation Mi'hen.

Her bangs fluttered softly in the breeze, obscuring her vision. Rikku quickly brushed them aside, leaving a trail of grease across her goggle lenses. She began to laugh softly to herself and her fingers, that she had not realized she had been clenching tightly, slowly unfurled, hovering over the sandy soil.

"In two days, I leave for the Moonflow," she whispered softly into the wind. In a few hours, her brother would leave for Luca, arriving with the Al Bhed Psyches to implement the first test.

Rikku laughed aloud again as she remembered Cid calling her brother an idiot, and then whispering in a low voice that he was counting on her.

"But, father, what about Operation Mi'hen? Don't you think it's going to work?"

Cid had visibly cringed and looked down at his hands, squeezing them into shaking fists.

"I'm not sure if anything can stop Sin, Rikku," he finally had said. Shocked, Rikku had looked up into his eyes. They were clear and honest.

"That's why we have to stop the summoners from sacrificing themselves," she now said in a low voice, rolling her head over so the sand cushioned her cheek.

"If Sin's just going to keep coming back…," her voiced cracked as she trailed off.

"If Sin's just going to keep coming back, then it isn't fair! I don't understand how people can even agree to this every day. It isn't worth it."

Rikku squinted, futilely trying to keep tears from slipping out of the corners of her eyes. Angrily she grabbed a fistful of sand and ground it between her gloved fingers.

"Hey, Rikku!" She heard her brother's voice yelling at her from the direction of the garage.

Rikku closed her eyes and let the sand slip from her fingers before slowly standing up. She sighed when she noticed the thick cloud of black smoke pouring out of the machina shop.

"Rikku!" Brother's voice now sounded panicky. She could barely hear him over the shrieking noises.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming! I can't believe you always need me to save your sorry ass," she grumbled to herself.


End file.
